In only a couple of short interviews (he also spoke with Vermont public radio),
Howard Dean was able to completely flip the debate over health care
reform. Until Dean spoke, the health care focus was entirely on
negotiating with -- and finding ways to please -- centrists like Sen. Joe Lieberman and conservative Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. The issues at hand were conservative concerns such as abortion and cost control.
Now, thanks to Dean, the entire discussion is how Democratic leadership
can please the liberal left. That's no small thing. Even if moderate
Democrats are fuming at Dean right now, he may be doing them a
favor by forcing them to defend their ideas against the left.